Plated plastic dye tubes



C C C) O C) C) C O Filed Oct. 22, 1965 ALKALJ CLEANSING.

A C\D NEuTRALvuHG SURFACE COHDITmHIHe SENsmt/.m'e

ACTIVA-rm@ BRmw-FY` PHCKEL PLATmG l HARD CHROMIUM PLATmG INVENTOR:

Juuus A. DALmn-z.

BY l ATTO EYn United States Patent O m 3,438,226 PLATED PLASTIC DYETUBES Julius A. Dalpiaz, Gastonia, N.C., assignor to Kluttz Machine &Foundry, Inc., Gastonia, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina FiledOct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 502,044 Int. Cl. D06f 17/00 U.S. Cl. 68-198 8Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE An impervious corrosion-resistantperforated tubular holder for supporting therearound a package of yarnto be dyed. 'Ihe holder consists of a tubular core shielded by anelectrically conductive surface to which at least one electrolesslyplated metallic coating is bonded. The core may be composed ofthermoplastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, phenol, polyacetyl orpolystyrene, and the metallic coating of copper, nickel or ch-romium.

This invention relates to yarn holders and more especially to perforatedtextile dye tubes around which yarn is wound to form a package throughwhich dye, bleach and other solutions may be circulated.

In operation, the tube and yarn Wound thereon is placed in a chambercontaining a hot aqueous chemical solution which is circulated andrecirculated through the tube perforations and the surrounding yarn. Thechemical composition of many of these solutions, especially when heated,are highly corrosive thereby requiring great care in the selection ofmaterials from which the tubes are made.

Heretofore, dye tubes have been made from plastic materials (see PatentNo. 2,746,280) as well as from corrosiveresistant metals (see Patent No.1,719,703), but such prior art tubes are objectionable under modernconditions both as to performance and cost. Conventional tubes madeentirely of corrosion-resistant metal can be produced only at anexcessive cost which is normally passed on to the consumer or purchaser.Where the tubes are made entirely of plastics or resins, there isusually an excessive bulk, a critical deficiency in rigidity and surfacehardness, and an objectionable high moisture absorption characteristic.

It is an object of this invention to provide a plastic dye tube core orsubstrate which is coated or plated with a rnetal so as to overcome theaforementioned difficulties experienced in this art.

It is another object of this invention to provide a dye t-ube composedof a relatively thin inner plastic core which is entirely encased withinand reinforced by a hard corrosion-resistant metallic shell rwhereby thebulk and weight of the tube will fall within permissible limits, thesurface properties greatly improved, and the manufacturing costsubstantially decreased.

Some of the objects of this invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of my improved dye tube;

FIGURE 2 is lan end vieW of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional View through a portion of the dye tubewall and taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating one of the processesemployed in making the dye tube.

IReferring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral designatesbroadly my improved dye tube which is composed of a plastic or resincore or substrate 11, a copper plating or coating 12 secured to oradhered to the 3,438,226 Patented Apr. 15, 1969 ICC outer surfaces ofthe core, a nickel plating 13 on the outer surfaces of the coppercoating, and a chromium plating 14 on the outer surfaces of the nickelplating. In one form of the invention, the plating 12 consists ofelectroless copper and the platings 13 and 14 of bright electrolyticnickel and chromium respectively. Although a plurality of 4metalliccoatings or platngs are shown and described, the invention contemplatesone or more metallic coatings or platings which encase or adhere to theouter surfaces of a molded plastic or resinous dye tube core Iwherebythe outer metallic tube surfaces will be resistant to chemical corrosionand seal the inner plastic core from moisture and from such corrosion.

The finished tube 10 has a plurality of' perforations 1S therein throughwhich yarn treating solutions are adapted to ow and through the yarn(not shown) which may be Wound around the tube.

The dye tube according to the invention is made by subjecting certaintypes of plastics or resins to an injection molding process to therebyform the core or substrate 11 (FIGURE 3) into a shape similar to theconventional dye tube, then prepa-ring or conditioning the exteriorsurfaces of the molded core for the reception of a metallic plating, andlinally depositing one or more metallic platings upon the preparedsurfaces.

Numerous plastic compositions or resins are suitable for forming thecore 11 prior to the deposition of the platings or coatings thereon.Specific examples of suitable compositions include: polyacetals such ascommercially available Delrin; phenolic plastics; polycarbonates;polystyrene; and thermoplastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrenecommercially designated as Cycolac IEP-3510. Of the above-namedcompositions, Cycolac E11-3510 has been found especially suitable sinceit possesses a good balance of properties such as rigidity, toughness,heat resistance and low moisture absorption.

Several known processes may be employed to condition or prepare theouter surface of the dye tube core 11 for the reception of a plated orcoated metallic outer surface. Such processes develop adhesion of metaldeposits to the plastic core surfaces land include (l) the dispersal ofa metallic powder in the plastic prior to molding to render itelectrically conductive, (2) the deposition of a conductive metal filmon the core by chemical reduction, (3) encapsulation or a heavyelectrodeposit surrounding the entire outer surface of the core, (4)treating the core or substrate with a colloidal metal solution of ametal catalytic as disclosed in Patent No. 3,011,920, (5) treatment ofthe molded core according to the process as reported in the April 1964issue of Products Finishing, and similar to the first six stepsillustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawings.

Conditioning process 5, when employed upon a dye tube molded fromCycolac EP-35l-O, has been found to produce optimum results and will bedescribed in detail as representative. It is to be understood, however,that the invention resides in the dye tube construction and compositionand therefore is not limited to the manner or process by which it isproduced, but instead, includes various combinations of theabove-mentioned core compositions and of the plating or coatingmaterials therefor.

One typical process of plating a dye tube core 11 made of CycolacEP-3510 is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 4 and outlined below.This process is described in greater detail in an article entitledElectroplating on Plastics published in the April 1964 issue of ProductsFinishing. The steps in the process are substantially as follows:

y(l) Alkali cleansing with a detergent or similar base;

(2) Acid neutralizing with acetic or hydrochloric acid to preventsubsequent acid solutions from being neutralized;

(3) Surface conditioning (Enplate Conditioner 470, April 1964 issue,Products Finishing);

(4) Sensitize;

(5) Activate;

(r6) Electroless copper plate;

(7) Bright nickel plate;

(8) Hard chromium plate.

The above process will produce a hard, wear and corrosion resistantsurface on the plastic core 11 capable of withstanding the operatingtemperatures and acidic dye rand otherrtreating solutions encountered inyarn treating operations.

4In the drawings and specification there have been set forth preferredembodiments of the invention, and although specic terms are employedthey are used in a generic sense and not for the purpose of limitation,the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims:

I claim:

1. An impervious corrosion-resistant holder for supporting therearound apackage of yarn to be dyed comprising a tubular plastic core havingspaced perforations eX- tending through the wall thereof, the surfacesof said wall and perforations being electrically conductive, and atleast one electrolessly plated metallic coating bonded to said surfacesto thereby shield said core while permitting dye solutions to ow throughthe package and perforations to and from the interior of the holder.

2. A dye tube as dened in claim 1 wherein said core comprisesthermoplastic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

3. A dyetubeas dened in claim 2 wherein said plating comprisessuccessive layers of copper, nickel and chromium.

4. A dye tube as dened in claim 1 wherein said core comprisesthermoplastic phenol plastics.

5. A dye tube as dened in claim 1 wherein said core comprisesthermoplastic polyacetal compositions.

6. A dye tube as defined in claim 1 wherein said core comprisespolycarbonate compositions.

7. A dye tube as dened in claim 1 wherein said core comprisespolystyrene.

t8. A dye tube as defined in claim 3 wherein said successive layers areelectroless copper, electrolytic bright nickel and electrolytic hardchromium.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,746,280 5/1956 ERussell 68-1983,222,218 `12/1965 Beltzer et al. 204-30 3,280,012 10/ 1966 `Clinehenset al 204-20 OTHER REFERENCES `Chemical Engineering, June 8, 1964, pp.106 and 108, Plated Plastics Invade the Metal Parts Market.

JOHN H. MACK, Primary Examiner.

T. TUFA'RIELLO, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 204-20, 24

